


Silver and Gold

by livefree_13



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Cuddling, Flirting, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:47:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28299930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livefree_13/pseuds/livefree_13
Summary: Souji's Christmastime celebrations had never been anything special. That is, until he moved to Inaba.
Relationships: Hanamura Yosuke/Narukami Yu, Hanamura Yosuke/Persona 4 Protagonist, Hanamura Yosuke/Seta Souji
Comments: 17
Kudos: 46
Collections: Souyo Secret Santa Gift Exchange 2020





	Silver and Gold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Skye_Maxwell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skye_Maxwell/gifts).



> Merry Christmas, [Skye_Maxwell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skye_Maxwell/works)! I was your Secret Santa. XD I hope you like what I put together for you. It was a special feeling being able to write for a friend this year. <3
> 
> The prompt I chose was: "Yosuke has to put up a big Christmas tree/holiday display at Junes and calls Souji for help, they work all night and then flirt sleepily"

Souji’s Christmastime celebrations had never been anything special. Until last year, he’d spent them either alone or with his parents at a company Christmas party, where strangers would fawn over his looks and compliment his grades and sometimes the older women would offer him a sip of their wine (which he always politely declined). Christmas was just that day that came a little before New Years, which itself was just another day that Souji got to spend at home, sheltered from the drunks and impenetrable crowds of Tokyo. 

Of course, that was until he moved to Inaba.

In that small town that Souji now thought of as home, the end of the year had never felt so different by comparison. He didn’t have to worry about crowds or too many drunks. The air felt cleaner in his lungs, as crisp as an icy lemonade on a summer day. And the pace, well, there was no pace in Inaba. Time slowed here, enough to allow a man to think. Thinking instead of existing, exploring instead of withdrawing. Laughing instead of . . . never laughing. Never once. Not really. 

Best of all, he now had friends where there had been a distinct lack of the same. Friends to experience the holidays with were a far cry from familiar strangers. He often thought back on Christmas Eve in particular, and fondly. Yosuke had seemed so embarrassed about spending his night with other guys, but the memory felt just as precious to Souji as the other memories he’d made in Inaba. It hadn’t mattered that none of them could sing (except for Yosuke) or that the cake Souji bought had been stale and tasteless. No, it certainly hadn’t.

In a way, it felt like he’d always shared his Christmases here. 

Souji smiled as he carefully placed another large, round ornament on a spare tree limb, absentmindedly humming one of the holiday jingles he remembered them singing last year - which tune also just so happened to be ringing joyfully over the Junes loudspeakers at the moment. 

“How ya coming along down there?” Yosuke called from the ladder.

“Okay, I think . . .” Souji replied, trying to concentrate on where he was going to place his next ornament. He was at a section of the tree that seemed sadly bare compared with the other side he had been working on. Suddenly, he was a little lost as to how he was going to make this section look as nice with fewer branches, and worried that the tree would look lopsided as a result. “There’s fewer branches here.” 

Yosuke glanced down at him. He had his Junes apron strung with a line of bulbous, colorful ornaments, which clanked and jingled as he moved. “It’s okay! Just do your best.” 

With that, he all but smirked down at Souji, who didn’t appreciate how cavalier Yosuke was acting over Souji’s designated task. Souji had never decorated a Christmas tree before. He didn’t want his first time to be riddled with eyesores of amateur ornament placement. 

“I _am_ doing my best,” he muttered. 

Above him, Yosuke snickered. “I know you are, partner. Look, the tree isn’t supposed to be perfect. It’s okay if it’s a little wonky on one side.” 

“Says who?”

“Says _me_ , the Senior Manager of the Junes Holiday Tree Decorating Committee.” 

Souji pulled a face, but went back to his decorating without another rebuttal. He would show Yosuke. Somehow, he’d make the tree (well, the bottom, at least) look evenly magnificent all the way ‘round. No gaps, no overburdened branches - just a perfectly balanced, fluffy tree pinched with knobs of shiny gold and red and silver. It would be the best Christmas tree anyone had ever decorated. 

“I _do_ appreciate your enthusiasm,” Yosuke continued, eyes scanning the tree for another blank spot. “I wish I’d had your help with the tree last year.” 

“You should have called me,” Souji pointed out. 

“Yeah, well . . .” He glanced up to see Yosuke patting down a branch that was sticking up too high. “I figured, after the Halloween debacle, _maybe_ let’s not put Souji through that again.” 

Souji laughed, shuffling around the box for another ornament. “I still wouldn’t have minded."

“I know,” Yosuke grumbled, albeit good-naturedly. 

He always seemed to grow shy when Souji demonstrated simple gestures of kindness. He wouldn’t deny he found it endearing. It made him want to show his friend even more, actually. 

“I don’t mind this, either,” Souji reminded him, shooting him a cautious glare from the floor. 

Yosuke sighed dramatically, adjusting a red ornament on its branch. “You’re too good to me, partner.” 

Souji grabbed a glittering, silver snowflake from the box. “ _Too_ good?” 

“Hell yeah,” Yosuke argued. “You gave up an evening baking cookies with Nanako-chan to be here. That’s _about_ as officially ‘too good’ as it gets.” 

Yosuke was right, of course. Souji had just been about to put a pan of gingerbread cookies in the oven when Yosuke had sent him a frantic text. 

“But Nanako was excited when I told her what we’d be doing. Oh! Don’t let me forget to take a picture of this when we’re done. Those were her ‘conditions’.” 

“ _Conditions_ ,” Yosuke repeated, fussing with something on the tree that was just out of Souji’s sight. “She’s scary smart, you know?” 

“Top of her class. Here, take a look at this and let me know what you think.” He scooted back from the tree and dusted off his hands, which were prickled red and sticky with pine resin. 

“Comin’.” 

Yosuke gingerly made his way down the old, creaky ladder and Souji watched him with bated breath, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth until his friend’s feet were firmly planted on solid ground and his sneakers squeaked on the shiny, linoleum floor. 

“Hey, not bad, partner! Even spacing, good variety. You’d never know it was your first one. Heh, you’re a natural!” 

Souji felt his chest bloom with pride as Yosuke surveyed his work. No doubt he’d seen a few years of these giant Christmas displays, so Souji took his compliment to heart. 

“Really? You think your dad will like it?” 

Yosuke fixed him with a knowing, playful gaze. “The only opinion that matters is the Senior Manager’s — and _he_ loves it.”

All Souji could do was sit there, arms hanging over his knees, and smile back at him. He then looked over his own work, noticing little things that needed touching up but, all in all, feeling overwhelming confidence that Yosuke would get good marks for his Christmas display this year. 

“Awww,” Yosuke cooed all of a sudden, and Souji blinked up at him. “You’re so cute.” 

Yosuke bit his lips and immediately looked down at his hands, which were holding a green oblong ornament. It shimmered under the glare of the department store lights as Yosuke’s dexterous fingers began to flip it over and over. 

In that brief, resounding pause, Souji’s body temperature suddenly skyrocketed. “I’m what?” he asked, quietly, as his sweater slowly began to stick to his skin. 

Yosuke inhaled deeply, refusing to look up. As he let out his breath, he reached out to hand Souji the ornament. 

“Cute,” he repeated, with finality, as if it were the bittersweet ending to a story he’d been telling all night. His eyes flickered into Souji’s. “Could you toss that in the box for me?” 

Souji swallowed loudly as he took it from him, transfixed. It slipped from his fingers as he put it down, and the sound it made as it clanked with the other ornaments would have made him wince had his head been screwed on straight. 

_Cute . . ._

“I still have a bit more to do, unless you need to get back home to Nanako-chan.” 

Yosuke’s back was turned to him now, and he was maneuvering the massive tree skirt around with his shoe, trying to straighten it. After a few seconds, Yosuke peeked at him over his shoulder, his eyes tired and yet, somehow, still a bit playful. 

It snapped Souji to attention. “Uh, no! I can stay.”

“You sure?” 

“Yeah.” Souji answered. He scrambled for his phone in his jeans pocket and flipped it open to see that it was almost 11pm. 

Yosuke turned around fully and narrowed his eyes at him. “What time is it?” 

Souji stood and pocketed his phone, trying to keep his face neutral. “Not that late.”

Yosuke gave him a disbelieving look which caused Souji to huff and look away. “11,” he admitted, grimacing. Nanako was likely fast asleep. Dojima had probably been home for a few hours at this point, also, so Souji wasn’t worried.

“Damn, that late already? I didn’t even hear the closing announcements.” Yosuke looked around them in amazement, as if he was just now realizing how barren the department store was. 

“I heard them — about an hour ago,” Souji chuckled. 

Yosuke frowned. “Why’d they keep the music on?”

“You don’t like it? It’s cheerful,” Souji shrugged. “It was helping me with decorating.”

If possible, Yosuke looked even more annoyed than he did a second ago. “ _Stop_ ,” he demanded.

“Stop?” 

“Being so cute,” he muttered as he turned away. 

Souji was able to smile at that, with a warm, fluttery feeling in his chest that made him feel like he could float up and place the star on top of the tree. 

In the end, Yosuke had been the one to place the star on top of the tree. Only he was allowed up on the ladder, after all (Junes rules), and Yosuke wouldn’t have let Souji do it even if they had been decorating a regular-size tree. Apparently, it was the “best part”. 

It didn’t _sound_ like the best part, considering the swears Yosuke was muttering under his breath as he tried to straighten the gigantic star in its place. He twisted it this way and that, scraping off a few needles, until he could get it to stand perfectly straight. “Finally,” Yosuke spat. “How’s it look?”

“Very nice,” Souji complimented. 

“Good, because I’m giving up,” Yosuke grumbled, as he once again navigated his way down from the very top of the ladder. 

Souji hadn’t been lying. Yosuke had definitely been the right person to hang it. The star was larger than either of their torsos, covered in glittering golden paint that was probably visible from each corner of the department store. It sat fastened to a cone-shaped coil that Yosuke, for all his angst, seemed to have expertly fitted over the top of the tree. 

It appeared to Souji that they were almost done. The velvet red skirt splayed out in a perfect circle around the bottom of the tree and all the ornaments (that weren’t broken) had been hung. His handiwork still impressed him when he gave it a critical glance, and the star — just like Yosuke — shone brightly and brilliantly from every angle. The only thing missing was placing the prop Christmas presents around the tree’s skirt. 

“Ugh, _why_ do I insist on hanging that thing every year? It’s always such a pain. I have the memory of a goldfish!”

“But you’re great at it,” Souji reassured him. “Besides, you wouldn’t let me.”

Yosuke dusted off his pants and apron of handfuls of pine needles he’d collected in his battle with the star. “Yeah, well, you can have dibs on it next year. I’ll make you sign a waiver.”

Souji reached out and swept a few pine needles off Yosuke’s shoulder. They were in his hair, too, somehow . . . 

“Are the presents the only thing left?” 

“Hm? Oh, yeah. Damn, I don’t think we’ll get home til midnight at this rate.” Yosuke patted at his sleeves.

“That’s fine with me.” Souji assured him, pulling a couple of pine needles from a strand of Yosuke’s hair. 

Yosuke blinked and watched Souji’s hand until it was done, and Souji didn’t miss the way his eyes lingered over it, or the faint blush that followed. 

“I hope you’re here next Christmas,” Yosuke mumbled, as if he was suddenly reminded of time and how it moved, and how it hurt that it did so, sometimes. 

“We’ll both be here,” Souji promised, “whether we’re in college or not. I’m sure your dad won’t turn down your help with the Christmas tree next year.” 

Yosuke smiled, a soft, tired laugh escaping. “Only if he pays me.” 

They got to work arranging the presents under the tree, which Yosuke was now too tired to delegate properly. Souji did his best, trying not to make them seem _too_ presentable and a bit more natural, in no particular size or order. Yosuke moved his share of the presents around with his shoe, and Souji followed behind him with adjustments when he could sneak it. 

They were too physically exhausted to drag the empty boxes and bags for the decorations back into the storeroom, so they shuffled them into a nearby aisle to get them out of the way. Yosuke said that the opening manager would move them when he got in, and didn’t seem to care at all about how this manager would feel about that. Souji, also too tired, agreed.

They stopped only for Yosuke to toss his apron in his employee locker then headed out through the break room’s hallway exit, waving at the security guard who sat sipping a coffee in his small station. As they threw open the door, Inaba’s brutal winter wind hit them both in the face and rushed down their necks. Souji had completely forgotten how frigid it was supposed to be tonight, and it seemed Yosuke had, too. He wasn’t even wearing a jacket while Souji, at least, was armed with a sweater. 

He grimaced pitifully at his friend as he wrapped his arms around himself. “Do you want to go back inside and get a coat?”

“Nah,” Yosuke shuddered, not slowing his pace down the sidewalk even as Souji fell behind. “I didn’t bring one. I’m an idiot. Let’s just keep going and get out of this cold.” 

Souji jogged to be in step with him, throwing his arm around Yosuke’s shoulders as soon as he caught up. “You’ll freeze.” 

Yosuke jerked stiffly under his arm and for a second, Souji thought he was trying to pull away. He must have been wrong, though, because once Yosuke gave him a shy but curious look, he relaxed his shoulders and allowed Souji to pull him just a bit tighter. His partner’s hair was now too short to cover his eyes, and Souji appreciated being able to see them earnestly try to avoid his own. He shouldn’t be too obvious, though. Yosuke was putting his trust in him, after all, letting Souji brace him from the wind with his own body. 

“You want my sweater?” 

“Nah,” Yosuke said, bumping into Souji as they walked. “Then you won’t have anything to wear.” 

“I’ll be fine.” He rubbed Yosuke’s arm with his palm. 

After a beat, Yosuke mumbled, “So is this.” 

Souji almost hadn’t heard him. He had been _that_ close to missing it, the shot of warmth in his stomach that spread into his chest and arms and fingers and rose into his head like hot air at Yosuke’s words. With Yosuke’s face and eyes and mouth so close to his own, his broad shoulders and delicate neck and the smell of his shampoo, Souji didn’t know how he managed to avoid leaning closer. If he had, he may have tripped them both, but it’s possible it would have been worth it. 

Souji didn’t offer again. He continued to try and keep Yosuke’s arms warm as they walked, letting his fingers trail over the skin covered by his thin shirt. He hadn’t touched Yosuke in this way before, so delicately, intimately, but it didn’t feel new or strange. It felt like he’d always done this, like Yosuke had always let him. 

Before Souji was prepared, he’d walked Yosuke to his front gate. The porch light was still on, the only one lit on the darkened street. As they came to a stop in front of the entrance, Souji’s heart felt a bit fragile, like the crackled glass ornaments on the Junes Christmas tree that you could barely touch without breaking. He eyed Yosuke’s front gate in disappointment, wishing he could somehow will time to move slower, even slower than it already did in Inaba. 

“Thanks for tonight, partner,” Yosuke mumbled sleepily into the space between them.

Souji turned his head to face him, to catch the look in his tired eyes before he had to let him go — and that was when Yosuke leaned in and kissed his cheek. 

“And thanks for keeping me warm.” 

Yosuke slipped from beneath Souji’s arm, and Souji stood there and watched him. He watched him open the latch on his front gate and quietly slide it shut behind him, watched his friend jog to his front door and fiddle for his keys in his pocket before glancing behind him, waving, smiling, and disappearing inside. 

And Souji stood there. He stood there until the wind reminded him it was near freezing, blowing down the collar of his sweater and sending a chill down his back to try and chase away the warmth that Yosuke had planted on his cheek, which grew still, despite the cold, into his skin and throughout his heart, healing and smoothing over its cracks. 

“No problem,” Souji whispered, to no one but the wind.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry i forgot the part where they were supposed to flirt. And Souji is gonna have to go back tomorrow morning to take a picture because I'm pretty sure he was too tired to remember. XD Merry Christmas!


End file.
